Adieu, Anwar Chowdhury
The first time I met you at the French Embassy on Bastille Day soon after taking over your assignment in Bangladesh, I spoke to you in Sylheti & asked if you could speak & understand Sylheti . Your reply to me at that time was 'thura, thura'.
Well, I, like many locals, have been watching you, not 'thura, thura' but quite intensely for the last four years. After that cowardly attack on you at Hazrat Shah Jalal's Dargha in Sylhet, hardly anyone to my knowledge expected you to ever return to Bangladesh on recovery to carry on with your duties. But I had a strong belief that you would - because, for me, it was the question of the pride of the Sylhetis.
Lots of people said & may still say that foreign Embassies/ Ambassadors/High Commissioners should not meddle in our internal affairs. I will not go into that. But what I saw in you was a resolve to do something constructive & fruitful for Bangladesh-as a patriotic Bangladeshi would do - no matter what your nationality is.
I wish you great success in life; and, at the same time, your successor a very happy & prosperous stay.
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